Oral care implements, e.g. toothbrushes and soft tissue cleaners such as tongue scrapers, commonly have handles that are made by injection molding a polymer resin in a cavity of a mold and then allowing the polymer to harden. The polymer resin used typically is a virgin material, i.e. a material that has not been previously used for the manufacture of an article. While this process has been found to provide a handle with an acceptable, smooth, comfortable surface for a user to hold during use of the implement, using virgin material consumes the earth's natural resources of the raw materials that at least partially make up the virgin material. Moreover, processing raw material to create virgin material expends a great deal of energy.
It has been proposed to use recycled plastic materials in the manufacture of toothbrushes. For example, US2010/0000039 describes a portable toothbrush made of recycled plastic, WO2011/025810 describes a toothbrush with a solid handle made of an admixture of cornstarch and recycled polypropylene, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,881,425 describes a toothbrush of which a handle is made of a material composition comprising at least about 90% recycled plastic. However, recycled plastic materials sometimes include foreign materials, such as foil, labels, and glue. Accordingly, the recycled plastic material needs cleaning and sieving to remove such foreign materials such that the cleaned material is usable to make implements with acceptable surfaces, or else handles made from such recycled materials will have an unattractive appearance and/or an uneven surface texture that is not comfortable to hold. Moreover, some consumers also develop the perception that post-consumer recycled materials carry germs.
Accordingly, there is a need for an improved oral care implement, with a handle that is made from a material the use of which has a reduced impact on the environment, that has an acceptable surface for a user to hold during use of the implement, and that allays perceived consumers' safety concerns.